It's a Funny Thing, Really
by MudbloodPride
Summary: In a world where Loki didn't go back to Asgard at the end of Thor: The Dark World, a young woman finds herself caught up in a whirlwind of events she never imagined in her wildest dreams, and, the most irritating, obnoxious and heart-breakingly beautiful man she has ever seen. She would kiss the man if she didn't feel like throttling him. Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**HI THERE :D Okay. Before you go any further, read this.** This story is slightly AU. Pretend that Loki never made it back to Asgard at the end of Thor: the Dark World, pretend that the Avengers timeline is a little screwed up and take in stride a whole bunch of weird crap that will happen later on.

yep, i think that's all you have to keep in mind...

Well. Um. Okay, just read it, I'll see you at the bottom.

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><p>Sometimes I think the universe really is out to get me. I mean if you think about it, it was all the fault of the convergence that I ended up the way I am. That day I thought the universe was giving me a break, what with the good fortune I had by not running into anything unexpected while making this trip to England. Things were going fairly well, and by fairly well I mean I still had a house to live in, back home. Okay, so it doesn't exactly heat itself but you know, at least I'm not homeless.<p>

I stepped out of the building and breathed in the cold air. Greenwich was so different from New York. Relatively quieter. Relatively neater. I inhaled another lungful of fresh air, pleased at how clean it smelled in comparison to the streets of the empire state. This may also be because my nose was numb. Oh well.

On the other side of the street the lake shimmered in the weak sunlight. So pretty. My mother would have liked this. I felt a twinge of sadness as I thought about her, with her dark, waist length hair and chocolate brown eyes, how she smelled like lavender and cinnamon, and made the best apple crumble pie ever.

"I miss you Mum," I whispered, "This trip is for you." It was her dream to travel the world, not mine. The furthest my dreams went were to settle for a high paying job in New York. I come from a small town in the States, where I had lived all my life with my mother. My dad left when I was three. I don't know why, and frankly, I don't care. My mum was my everything and I was hers. Being pregnant at eighteen, and then a single parent at twenty-two, life was always tough for her. In spite of all that, we managed damn well. When I got into college in California she was so proud, I kid you not, she burst into tears and then made baked goods like a maniac for five hours straight.

"We'll celebrate after you graduate Louie," she told me the day I left, "We'll go on that trip around the world we always wanted to go on, just you and me."

"Ma," I laughed, "trips around the world don't exactly come cheap." She waved her hand airily. Did I mention she was the dreamer and I was the practical one?

"I have some money put away. If we keep adding to that nest egg, we'll be able to go someday."

Four years later, I completed my degree in English, acing my classes and faithfully saving as much money as I could for our nest egg. We didn't expect to save much; it was an unrealistic, foolish dream, but it was what kept us close over the distance. Whenever she phoned we would end up chatting for hours on end about this far-fetched trip.

Then, two days after graduation she phoned me, and I could tell from how calm she was being that something was very, very wrong.

"Hey Mum," I said cheerily, hoping I was just being paranoid, "I'm taking the flight at three on Friday okay?"

"Louie," her voice shook a little. My stomach twisted.

"Mum what's wrong?" she made a little choking sound before clearing her throat and continuing in a whisper. "Louie honey, I've- I've got cancer."

"Mum…"

"Yeah I know, I know… Breast cancer to be specific. I knew these things were a bother." She laughed a little breathlessly.

"I'm coming home today." She didn't even argue. All I heard was a small "okay." I hung up, sat on the floor and cried for an hour before going online and booking the next flight home. She refused treatment after the nest egg depleted on just one round of chemotherapy. So, two years later, here I was in Greenwich, honouring my mother's last wish and burying her ashes at her birthplace. I could feel myself getting sucked into that pit of depression just thinking about it. Shaking my head a bit I tried to clear my thoughts and compose myself. I was not going to start crying in the middle of the pavement. I did my duty. I was going to enjoy the rest of my stay as best as I could and then go home and start a new life.

Pulling myself together, I crossed the road, and that was when I saw it. For a second there I couldn't figure out what it was. First the air above the lake shimmered and rippled and then all of a sudden, a ship materialized. Out of thin air. In broad daylight. What. The. Fuck. I mean really, a _spaceship? _In _Greenwich_? What tourist comes across that?

Several people screamed. The spaceship was moving fast and moving straight towards the green courtyard that the buildings surrounded. It didn't look like it was going to stop.

"RUN!" someone hollered. I stumbled backward, stunned. Was this a normal occurrence in England? I watched as it barreled straight through the concrete and tarmac as if it barely existed. And I realized I was sort of in its path. Shit.

Time stood still and the noise in the background reduced to a dull roar. I was going to die. A spaceship was going to crush me and I was going to die like an ant under a boot.

Well, I thought dryly, that's an ungainly way to go. Here's me accepting my fate. Like Harry Potter I shall welcome Death with open arms. I braced myself for the impact and my inevitable demise. Except I didn't die because someone with grabbed me and dragged me out of the way.

"What the hell are you doing?!" my savior yelled in my face, her hair blowing in the wind as she pulled me to safety. Oh, another American. Though unlike me she seemed to know what she was doing. Following her was a tall, lanky young man with an armful of tech-y looking poles.

"I – I wasn't-"

But the young man cut me off. "Darcy! We're running out of time!"

"Right!" Darcy dropped my arm, which she had been holding with a vice like grip and sprinted off, yelling over her shoulder, "Don't hang around, I won't be there to save your ass again!"

"Right," I mumbled. Good advice. I should probably run now.

It took me all of ten seconds to launch myself onto the road and start running as far away as I possibly could from the giant, obviously hostile, alien space thing. The screaming and shouting was getting louder and I could've sworn I heard shooting. Overhead, two fighter planes flew towards the ship. Turning around, I power-walked backwards, stumbling over rubble and once (oh god) a foot. Slowly, I glanced around. The scene that greeted me was one of absolute disaster. People running, screaming, glass shattered, broken buildings, police cars with their sirens blasting, ambulances... I looked to the sky and my jaw dropped open.

Sweet baby Jesus. It was a fucking tornado up there. Complete chaos engulfed the area, and once in a while there was a crack and lightning would strike the ground, somewhere near the ship. I wouldn't know where exactly; the buildings were blocking my view. Over to the left a new disturbance was taking place in the sky. Clouds were parting in the air, forming perfect circular holes in the thick, red smog. The two planes I saw earlier fired missiles, but to no avail. They were sucked in to the, well, _portals_, like dust bunnies to a vacuum cleaner.

Then, when I thought it couldn't get any worse, a car fell out of thin air, three feet in front of me. With a shriek I jumped backwards, throwing up my hands against the shower of glass.

"Bloody hell!" I screamed to no one in particular, "what in god's name-!"

It was then that I, being the graceful being I am, tripped and fell backwards. Suddenly the whole world seemed to tilt on its axis, and everything went black.

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><p><span><strong>Loki POV<strong>

Pain. Pain was the driving force in him. The poison in the wound was spreading fast. Thor's face swam in and out of focus and Loki struggled to concentrate on what he was saying. Faintly he heard his brother's words.

"I'll tell father what you did here today." If he could have snorted he would have. He struggled to form words.

"I didn't do it for him." Loki gasped and stilled as everything went black, a deafening roar rising in his ears.

Pain. So much pain. Loki could feel himself beginning to panic. No. No no no. He was a_ God_. He was born with a _purpose_ and that _purpose_ was _not_ to die alone in a barren wasteland.

Pull yourself together you fool, he silently told himself, it is not time to die just yet.

Motivating as these thoughts were, Loki was still unable to move. The poison made his entire body feel like it was on fire and he groaned. Everything was still dark, still loud, and still painful. His stomach hurt, badly, and soon he went spiraling down to the dark, blissful silence that comes with passing out.

He reckoned he must have been unconscious for a while, and when he came to again the pain had reduced considerably. The black was fading away and the wasteland was slowly appearing before his eyes. He could make out the shapes of fallen ships and bodies strewn across the dusty ground. Gods. How was he going to get out of this?

Groaning, he sat up and examined the wound carefully. Hm. Well, something was off. It took him a moment or two to figure it out. _Ah_. He was blue.

"Interesting," he murmured softly. In his weakened state his body had reverted to its natural state. Chastising himself for taking so long to figure it out – really, did Thor hit him on the head with Mjolnir or something? – he tried his best to peer at the wound in his stomach. The pain now came directly from the gaping hole, only worsening when he moved. It was an intense pain, yes, but it seemed that the poison had just… disappeared. How strange. Was it his Jotun form doing this? Experimentally he reverted to his Asgardian form and then gasped as the pain doubled. Alright then, he was going to have to remain as a Jotun for a while. His nose wrinkled in distaste. What a way to add insult to injury.

Once he was blue again he lay back, breathing hard. The smallest amount of magic weakened him so much. He tried to collect his thoughts. He couldn't stay here forever. Firstly it was a wasteland. Anyone or anything he came across was very likely hostile. Secondly, it was not like the place had any sort of food or water to offer. He would either be killed or die of starvation. So, he had to leave, to another realm, and soon.

But how? Heimdall? Heimdall was probably distracted at the moment. Besides, if Thor had made it back to Asgard alive he would have told everyone that Loki was dead by now. Heimdall wouldn't be on the lookout. He could wait for a patrol to be sent from Asgard but Loki wasn't sure how long he had been out for. There was a chance that the scouts had already been to the Dark World and left with only news of a body to report. Besides, going home, even like this, meant days and days of trials and courts and Loki wasn't sure he could face Odin after the loss of Frigga. The gap between them would only increase further. Loki knew Frigga was the reason Odin had dealt him life-long imprisonment and not death. Without her presence, it was unlikely he would be treated very well.

So how was he going to escape?

Think fool, he snarled to himself. You escaped the clutches of Thanos - not very well, but nevertheless escaped. A wasteland shouldn't be too hard. Lifting his hand to brush hair from his forehead her noticed it was slick with blood. Ah. So the first order of business was healing. In his Jotun form it seemed to occur much faster. If he found shelter he could stay, rest, and once he had enough strength to summon his magic, continue the healing process himself. So all he had to do now was to find shelter.

Too tired to sit up again, he rolled his head, searching for a cave, a cavern, even a mere crevice in which to rest. He was in luck. There, out in the hills from which they tumbled down in their pseudo-fight Loki noticed several caverns. Surely they were safe. He stood, groaning loudly at the pain. For the thousandth time in two years he was thankful he wasn't some weak Midgardian. Slowly he shuffled forwards, picking up a staff along the way. It was a weapon, he assured his bruised ego, not an aide that he required to hobble along.

Oh, the dignity of a fallen king, he thought dryly.

Picking a cave at random, he entered slowly and finding it thankfully empty, lowered his aching body to the ground. After a few adjustments and a very weak illusion, he was fairly sure that while he was able to see the outside, no outsider could see him. Closing his eyes he sighed, suddenly so tired of it all. All the illusions, the lies, the trickery.

He thought back to the battle and wondered if Thor had succeeded in defeating Malakeith. How long had he been out for? It felt like days, but common sense told him it could only have been a few hours, if the bodies strewn out there were anything to go by.

He supposed Mother really would have been proud of him today. Loki still felt a twinge of anger at not being able to attend her funeral. Thor's mortal woman had been present, but he, he who loved her the most had been sitting in the dungeons, completely unaware of what was happening until it was far too late. He stared up at the jagged ceiling as something wet trickled down his face and into his hair. He could have helped. He could have saved her. Angrily he scrubbed away the tears. Tears would not bring her back. Nothing would..

A low rumbling, followed by a terrific thud disturbed his thoughts. Startled, he raised himself slightly. Out in the distance a new body lay, faintly stirring. There was no mistaking that long, white blond braid. Malakeith. With a growl he made to rise; it did not matter that a hole had been ripped through his insides; he would kill Malakeith or die trying. He'd only just sat up, however, when with another rumble, the Elves' ship materialized out of thin air. In slow motion it fell, creaking and groaning and shuddering, crushing Malakeith under it. Well.

A startled laugh escaped Loki's lips. There was no way the Elf could have survived that. What an ungainly way to die. He chuckled darkly. Nothing more than what the bastard deserved. And yet, he was probably going to die here too, alone and friendless. He would be lucky if it was a fast, painless death like Malakeith's. The thought sobered him up fairly quickly.

Alone and friendless. Not that he had many friends to begin with, but the thought that he had been about to die in his brothers arms had, at that moment been a strangely comforting one. It made facing the inevitable seem easier. Ugh. He was picking up all this sentimental rubbish from his brother. Stupid oaf. He felt an uncomfortable twitch at the insult he made and then an even more uncomfortable one when he realized his mind had not automatically denied any relation to the god of thunder. He was accepting Thor as a brother. Dear Gods. He felt like bashing his head against a rock.

Yet, he couldn't help but dwell on conversations of the past. Words from what seemed like eons ago echoed in his mind.

_"We played together, fought together."_

_ "You come home."_

_ "I wish I could trust you."_

Bitterly he turned his head to the inside of the cave. Perhaps Thor really would see to it that he had died honourably. An oaf his brother may be, but Loki couldn't deny that his heart was in the right place. Probably one of the few reasons he would make a good king.

Glowering, he picked at his wound. It seemed to have healed almost halfway already. His Jotun form really did heal faster. Maybe it was because he wasn't exerting any energy in holding up an illusion. He filed this information away for future use and let his eyes wander over the interior of the cave. Dark and dank, it seemed to lead on in the form of a tunnel. This made him slightly nervous. Tunnels existed only if something dug them out. He hoped he wouldn't find out exactly what.

He heaved a sigh. The minutes ticked by slowly, and he counted the seconds when he got bored. Rock, rock, rock, more rock, lots more rock…wait. What was that? Was that – he raised his head, blinking. Was that a _shoe_?

Ignoring his body which screamed in protest, he got up and shuffled towards it. A shoe. A Midgardian shoe. He examined it, bemused. How could a shoe from earth have ended up here, in the Dark World? Unless… his grip on the shoe tightened and his eyes widened as he made his way further into the tunnel. More and more shoes and the odd Midgardian object littered the ground. If his hunch was correct.. Experimentally he lobbed the shoe a good ten feet out and held his breath. It sailed through the air and then, disappeared. He grinned.

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><p>Et voila!<p>

okay, now for the proper Author's note. This is the first story I've published, so... well... a little review or two might be nice :P

See, i get real bored, real fast, but if I know someone out there is willing to read, I just might be motivated to actually see this through to the end :')

so yeah. Let me know if you like it, let me know if I should continue or not :3 the second and third chappies are already done, but I'm too anxious to post them unless I get a little positive feedback ehehe.

constructive criticism only, okay. go easy on the first timer.

Much Love,

Until next time :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Hello hello hello :D New readers, welcome. Old readers, welcome back to another chapter! :D

To be honest, I want to get on with the boring details and move to the Loki - OC fluff stuff, but I also feel the need to give this story an actual plot, so... yeah.. :P

This chapter was, frankly, rather annoying to write. I feel like the words didn't quite flow. It's late and maybe I've seen it far too many times, but it's making less and less sense so I thought I'd post it fast, before I ended up changing the entire story xD

To the reviewers:

**TheIronBat:**I'm as honoured that you're my first reviewer as I am about being your 100th :3 I hope you like this one!

**Dragon of Ying and Yang**: Thank you for your support, I hope this makes you happyy :D

**Guest**: thank you :D

Many thanks to the ones who followed and favourited this, I hope I do justice to this story :) okay then, on with the show!

**A/N EDIT-11/3/2014: before i go any further, i corrected some mistakes in this chapter, which kind of irked me when i came back and re-read it. dont worry, it was only some grammar mistakes. I am a perfectionist so I just had to correct it :P Chapter three will be up soon lovies! Stick around :)**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

**Louie POV**

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a whole lot of white light. I groaned. My body ached and I felt unbearably sleepy and weak. Blinking once or twice, I tried to get rid of the haze. A face swam in and out of focus.

"I'm dead aren't I?" I croaked. There was a chuckle.

"Not quite, dear. Though I have to admit, you may have come quite close."

I blinked again, trying to clear my vision. A plump, smiling nurse came into view. The tag on her blouse read Amanda Walters. She took my pulse and then fiddled with a button on the IV hooked into my arm. I looked around the pristine, white room. The only furniture other than the bed was a single chair. I rubbed my face tiredly. Okay, so I was in a hospital. What the hell happened to me?

Amanda Walters seemed to read the question in my gaze and gave me a gentle smile.

"Can you tell me your name?"

"Louise Montgomery."

"Can you remember what happened, love?"

I frowned then stopped because it hurt my head. The nurse pressed a glass of water into my hand. Taking a sip, I tried to remember.

"I… I was walking backwards; running away from the ship - _thing_ - and I fell, I think, and blacked out." My voice trailed away and I looked down at myself. One leg was bound tightly in bandages, and there were cuts and bruises on my arms. Amanda nodded sympathetically.

"You must have, yes. You're lucky you didn't get a concussion. In fact, you just got away with a bad sprain and a few cuts. Oh yes, compared to the rest of them, you're very lucky." She smoothed out my bedspread. The gesture reminded me of my mom, who would do the exact same thing.

"What," I hesitated and licked my lips. "Can you tell me exactly what happened?"

Amanda's smile was fainter this time; the tight lines around her eyes quite visible. "It was another alien incident, dear." I raised my eyebrows.

"Aliens? Like the ones in New York last year?" The nurse nodded. I leaned back. Christ. The world was getting wackier by the day.

"You're American aren't you?" I nodded and answered her unspoken question.

"I was in Greenwich on… holiday. My flight home leaves next week. Or at least, it was next week before I blacked out."

"You were unconscious for a couple of days. The hospital sent out teams to rescue people. Your reports say that you were found approximately three hours after the ship disappeared and Thor left."

"Thor? Thor was here?"

"Oh yes, waving his hammer about and everything." Amanda collected up her tray of utensils and reports. "So, by what you're saying, your flight was supposed to leave on Sunday, yes?" I nod in affirmation.

"I suppose you'll be out of here in no time. Like I said before, you're one of the lucky ones." She gave me a pat on the cheek and picked up her things and left. Settling back into the pillows, I watched as the saline drip-dripped down the tube, each drop measured and perfectly spaced apart. I breathed gently to the rhythm, and in no time at all, I was asleep.

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><p>It was two weeks later that the trouble really started. I settled into the small, dingy apartment for which I had to pay way more than it was worth but what the hell, it was close to my waitressing job and almost in the centre of the city. I applied for a proper job to several places, but so far I hadn't received a single letter requesting an interview. It was really demotivating. I guess a degree in English didn't really get you far. I decided I was going to keep trying for another couple of months. Just a little longer in this rat-hole, and if I got nowhere, I would go back home and apply for a teaching job at the local high school. I would lead a proper life. Maybe meet someone. I snorted. How dull. But the way it was going, dull was where it was all heading.<p>

One evening I returned home from work, tired and cranky; really, some customers could be so _rude_. Sighing I ran myself a bath. Fortunately the hot water was working that day, so a few minutes later I lowered myself into warm water with a sigh of contentment. Closing my eyes, I let the water work its magic on my sore limbs. Believe you me; waitressing is not a piece of cake. Some of the more ungainly jobs at the café were bestowed upon me, the new recruit. This involved lugging bags of flour and potatoes into the bakery, and the much heavier garbage bags out. It was better than most part time jobs though, but I don't think I'm very good at it. I tend to have a lot of bad luck; dropping bottles, slacking off, reading books on the job, mixing up orders. Robert, my manager, tells me my heart is not in the job. I have to bite my tongue to stop myself from snapping that the only reason I was so unfocused was because I stayed up till late writing articles, poems and the sort, to send off to publishers on an almost daily basis. Okay, so maybe what I said earlier wasn't quite true. I did have some dreams. To be a writer, now that would be pretty cool. Not that I had had any luck in that area either.

A good hour later, I was almost completely rejuvenated and decided to take my latest novel and read on the rooftop. It was only a five floor building so it was completely dwarfed by most others, but it was better than nothing. Settling on the ground, my back against the wall, I sipped my water, intending to bury myself in the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Before long though, my thoughts started drifting as usual back to the battle at Greenwich and what had happened to me there. There was still a gaping hole in my memory, something I couldn't quite put my finger on.

I had blacked out, about that I was quite sure, but something didn't feel quite right about the whole escapade. I don't remember hitting my head or receiving a blow to it in order to black out. The doctors at the hospital told me there was absolutely nothing wrong with my head; I didn't even have a bump or a bruise. If I didn't know better, I'd say I blacked out in midair.

I stretched my foot experimentally, rotating it. The sprain had healed surprisingly fast; by the time I stepped out of the airplane and back into the city of New York, it barely hurt at all. Tapping thoughtfully on my water bottle, I went back to Holmes. I had read this book once before when I was little and I vaguely remembered whodunit. Boo. I just managed to spoil a book for myself on my very own. Disappointed, I put the offending thing aside and continued tap tapping away, now humming the bars to "Valerie".

The water in my bottle made ripples as I tapped.

_Well sometimes I go out, by myself, and I look across the water_

I closed my eyes, practically seeing the words form in my head. My fingers tapped away. I loved this song. It was my mother's favourite. She and I would sing it all the time. I wouldn't say I'm an incredible singer, but Mom, she was the best. Together, we always sounded fantastic. My chest felt tight when I thought of how we wouldn't be able to do that anymore.

"Won't you come on home.."

The bottle felt strangely light in my hands and I cracked an eye open. My breath caught in my throat and the words died on my lips. The water in the bottle was floating; floating in big globules inside the clear plastic as if the bottle was a lava lamp. I blinked and immediately the water fell back, sloshing around. I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding and shuddered. My heartbeat was suddenly very loud in my ears.

Why- why had the law of gravity just been defied in a little plastic container? Was I dreaming? I pinched myself. Ow, okay no, not dreaming. Was I seeing things? My eyes widened. Oh god, maybe I was. Maybe I did get hit on the head in Greenwich.

I looked at the water again. It lay innocently at the bottom of the bottle, gently swaying as I moved my hands. I glared at it suspiciously for a few moments before taking a deep breath and calming down a bit.

"It's nothing. You were probably seeing things, Louie," I told myself sternly. "A lot of weird crap has happened lately, you shouldn't be surprised one or two weird things would happen again." Honestly, after aliens and spaceships, a little hallucination should be quite normal.

But weird things didn't stop happening around me. Two days after the water bottle incident I was at Central Park when I ran into a bunch of school kids. A very haggard looking school teacher was accompanying them, reprimanding and chiding them gently as they all gathered around a large Elm, the noise level steadily increasing as they pointed up at the branches, talking among themselves. Curiousity got the better of me and I moved over to see what the fuss was about. Then I spotted it, a smear of bright yellow and red, against the cool green leaves. A kite.

Why they were thinking of flying a kite on a day there was barely a breeze I could not fathom but as I watched them, I couldn't help but think that if a gust of wind blew through the branches_ just right, _it might just fall out. I had barely finished forming the thought in my head when there was a sudden whooshing sound and with a burst of wind, the kite fluttered to the ground. Jaw dropping open, I hurried away amidst the cheers and whoops of joy of the kids. An uneasy feeling crept into me. What the hell was going on?

Then, a week after that, I was lugging a bag of compost up to the rooftop on Mrs. Walter's request. Mrs. Walters was a sweet old lady who lived in the apartment across the hall from mine, and only two things in her life mattered the most to her: mollycoddling anyone younger than the age of twenty-five by inviting them to tea on a weekly basis (read: yours truly) and her miniature rooftop garden. Because I was bribed with many chocolate chip cookies and a slice of apple tart, I was more than happy to help out by promising to carry it up and store it. Of course, that was before I saw the size of the bag.

It was as big as two sacks of cement and by god it was _heavy. _By the time I had made it to the second floor landing I was sweating profusely and swearing colourfully enough to make any sailor wince. By the time I arrived onto the third floor, I was ready to give up for the day and come back tomorrow. My arms ached, and I was losing my grip. So naturally, halfway up the next flight of stairs, I dropped the blasted thing and watched in a fascinated sort of horror as it went spilling out onto the carpet with a soft rustle. Oops.

I flipped out completely of course, thankful that neither Mrs. Walters nor the landlord had seen what I had done to their respective precious property. The soil would take _ages_ to clean up, and oh god, if it stained – Then, before my eyes, the soil was hovering a good inch above the carpet. My mind went blank with shock. _Not again. _The soil started spinning like a tornado had caught it up and zoomed up the staircase. I took the stairs two at a time, chasing it down. The compost tornado made its way to Mrs. Walters' front door where it promptly exploded, showering the entire landing with soil. I groaned.

Forget uneasiness, now I was simply fucking terrified. I was positive now, about what exactly it was causing all these strange incidents. It was me. I was doing this, and whatever the hell it was, it was happening more and more often and I had no idea how to control it.

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><p><strong>Fury POV<strong>

Nick Fury was having a good day. He hadn't been woken up at some godforsaken hour due to some sort of emergency or the other and so far nothing had exploded, accidentally or otherwise. The Helicarrier was fixed, the Dark Elves incident in Greenwich finally closed with nothing further to report and the Avengers Initiative was going quite well. He prided himself in the results of that last one. No-one expected the superhero bunch to be able to actually get along, but once again, they had amazed everyone; be it anyone from S.H.I.E.L.D or the rest of the world. They were a surprisingly good team.

Speaking of said team, Fury decided it was time to check in on them. He usually did it once a month or so in a – ahem – unofficial manner. Looking through his information reports and tabs he discovered they were all in Stark tower. Oh how convenient. Discreetly he tapped into the building's surveillance system, surveying all for around ten seconds – any longer and Tony's AI would be alerted of his presence.

He noted that Barton and Romanoff were lounging on opposite ends of a sofa, the former flipping through TV channels while the latter flipped through a magazine. His lip curled at their poor attempt of hiding their almost violent game of footsie. Stark was at the bar, sipping a martini - really Tony, at nine in the morning? – an arm slung around Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark Industries. Banner was down in the labs, scribbling furiously in one of the ten books open in front of him. Rogers was, predictably, in the gym. Fury snorted. Three days since he had returned from wherever the hell he had been on that motorcycle of his and he was already back in the gym. Why were all his agents not like this man?

Thor was, of course in Asgard, with Jane Foster. He had said he had matters to attend to there. Fury let him go without being too precise about the debriefing of the Greenwich battle; losing his mother and brother had taken quite the toll on the usually cheerful God. (Fury couldn't exactly say he was sorry for his loss though. Loki was much less trouble dead). Thor was expected to return tomorrow, and so far, all seemed well with this superhero boy-band. Oh yes, Fury was definitely having a good day. He should've known it wouldn't last.

His communicator chirped and he pressed a button.

"Agent Hill," he said, leaning back in his seat and sipping his coffee. "I'm glad you called, I'd like you to get me the files on Romanoff and Barton as soon as – "

"Sir," Hill interrupted, sounding worried. "We have a bit of a situation." Fury frowned and waited for her to elaborate.

"We were updating the list of wanted criminals, Sir, and as usual we were running a final check before moving records over to the 'Deceased' section. And then –," Hill broke off for a second and Fury heard her murmur to someone in the background. "Matthew! You're one hundred percent sure it's not a system malfunction? _One hundred percent sure?" - _And then - "_Dammit_!"

Fury drummed his fingers on the table top impatiently. "Talk to me, Agent. What's going on?"

"Sir, we have a 72 percent match on the facial recognition system, of –," she broke off again and another background voice rose, panicky and loud. "I thought he was dead! The Director told us –"

"Maria!" barked Fury "a 72 percent match of whom?"

"Of – of Loki, Sir." Suddenly, his coffee seemed too bitter for him to swallow.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **So that happened :P

k, let me know what you think okayyy ;3

Readers, do keep in mind it's a slightly AU story. Plotlines from Captain America, the Iron Man Sequels etc etc may or may not apply according to my liking :p Also, I should mention, I do NOT live in America and so my geography is absolute crap. If I got anything wrong, do let me know.

OH. Darn I forgot the Disclaimer. I OWN NOTHING YOU RECOGNISE. NOTHING. HABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

KTHANKSBYEEEEEE!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Hello hello :) Sorry for the wait, it's been a crazy week. This is supposed to be the stuff I do to relax, haha.

Anyway, hope you liike :) See you at the bottom.

**TheIronBat:** Thank you so much! You don't know how much your words encouurage me :) I'm truly grateful. Hope you like this :)

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

Tony's lips brushed against Pepper's hair and he inhaled the light, sweet smell of her shampoo.

"Sir," Jarvis' cool British accent cut through his trance-like state.

"Hmm?" He twiddled a strawberry blond lock of hair in between his fingers. Pepper batted his hand away. "You better have a good reason to have interrupted Jarvis."

"Director Fury is attempting to contact you Sir. Shall I put him through?"

"No," said Tony at the same time that Clint, Natasha and Pepper said "Yes."

"Outvoted, Tony." Pepper smirked. Tony hated it when Director Fury called. He was always bored to tears. "Jarvis, put him through to the conference room."

"Certainly, Miss Potts,' said Jarvis. Tony pouted.

"I should also tell you Sir, that a blocked third party tapped into the system a few moments before the call came through. It stayed on for approximately eight seconds before disappearing."

"That would be Fury," said Tony rolling his eyes.

"Would you like me to set up the necessary firewalls, Sir?"

"Don't bother, Jarvis. Let him think he's still under the radar, the nosy bastard. You two," he pointed a threatening finger at the two assassins on his sofa, "keep your mouths shut." He glared to emphasise his point.

Natasha frowned and opened her mouth to retaliate but Clint interrupted. "Let's go see what Fury wants, shall we?"

"Right." Tony gave Pepper one last kiss and headed for the elevator. "Jarvis, tell Steve and Bruce to meet us at the conference room."

"Yes, Sir." Pepper gave them a parting wave as the elevator doors closed.

Humming, she twiddled her thumbs for a couple of seconds, her eyes flicking now and then to the elevator doors. After a minute or two, she rolled her eyes.

"I'll go nuts if I stay here wondering what they're up to. Jarvis, tell Tony I went out."

"Yes, Miss Potts. Should I get a car ready?"

"No, that's fine Jarvis. I'm going to the usual place. I'll walk."

"Very well, Miss Potts. Have a good day."

* * *

><p><strong>Louie POV <strong>

I retied my hair into a ponytail, pulling the strands back harshly. I know it made my hair resemble the tail of a broomstick but really, I could not care less. Lunch was always the insanely busy hour.

I wiped down the counter, served the couple by the window seat and then ducked into the kitchen for a breather. I really needed to look for a better job. The past few weeks had put me on edge; my nerves were frazzled and I was clumsier and quieter than usual.

"Montgomery!" I jumped as Robert barked my name. "This is the third time I've caught you day-dreaming. Pull yourself together and go serve the lady at table four. She's one of your regulars." Nodding, I straightened my skirt and walked out. I knew who Robert was talking about. Table Four was one of the tables outside the bakery, yet in a secluded corner. The woman seated at the table was wearing a large pair of sunglasses that covered half her face and her hair was tucked into a large, wide brimmed hat.

She was tapping away on an expensive piece of Stark tech when I approached. She looked up and smiled at me and I smiled back.

"Hello. You want the usual?" I asked politely. She was a proper regular. She always sat at table Four, always wore big sunglasses and a hat and always tapped away on a piece of Stark tech. She never spoke to anyone else, and since I always served her (it was two weeks ago that she first started coming to the café) she never had the need to. However, she was really nice; even if I dropped the order in her lap (yes that happened) she wouldn't complain to Robert. So it's safe to say I liked her a lot.

"Oh, well, just a coffee would be fine," she started before pausing before adding, "oh, a chocolate muffin too, I guess." I grinned and wrote it down. The usual then. Heading back to the counter, I put a muffin and a mug of coffee on a tray along with a single packet of sugar. She accepted it with murmured thanks and tipped her hat even lower over her face.

I was momentarily distracted when a toddler who was fussing in his high chair knocked a glass of water to the ground with his flailing limbs. I hurried over to help, cooing to the baby and murmuring words of comfort to the poor mother at the same time. Another server came over with a dustpan and broom and after I made sure there were no shards remaining I returned to table four to retrieve my notebook.

"You have very nice handwriting," said the lady conversationally as I reached for the little book. I dipped my head shyly.

"Thanks. I got a lot of practice."

"Waitressing?" she asked, taking off her sunglasses and giving me a view of sparkling blue eyes. Suddenly she looked oddly familiar. I shook my head.

"No ma'am. I wrote a lot of essays in college. Did an English degree."

"In that case, what's a smart girl like you doing waitressing for?" I flushed, a little embarrassed.

'I'm applying for jobs. I just haven't found anything yet. Recession and all." She must have sensed my discomfort because she smiled apologetically.

"I'm sorry if I came off as nosy. I'm just a very inquisitive person"

"Its fine," I grinned, then hesitated before asking, "Do I know you?"

She looked at me oddly and smiled. "You're not from around here, are you?" I shook my head. Oh lord. Was she someone important? I racked my brain frantically. She didn't seem to mind me not knowing her.

"I'm Virginia, she said, sticking her hand out.

"Louie." She had a firm handshake.

"I know."

"You do?"

"It's on your nametag."

"Oh."

She laughed.

"Am I supposed to know you?" I asked bluntly, it's just that you're right, I'm not from around here- I came to Manhattan a few weeks ago."

"Well, personally I think it's a relief to be around you. It's quite refreshing not to be hounded by random strangers who know who you are," she said, putting her sunglasses back on.

Hmm. was she a celebrity, then? My knowledge of such thing was minimal so I had no way of knowing. I shrugged. In this city, I would find out eventually enough.

"Montgomery!" A voice barked and we both jumped. I noticed that Virginia's coffee had vibrated slightly even though neither of us had done anything to disturb it. Crap.

"Montgomery," Robert was glared at me. In a sickly sweet voice he reminded me, "We have other customers to serve, Montgomery. Get on with it, please."

"Yessir," I said and scurried back into the kitchen. I'd lost count of the number of times Robert had told me off. It was so embarrassing.

For the rest of the day I stayed in the kitchen, hiding from Robert and choosing to do the other odd jobs. Once, when I dared to venture out of the kitchen, Virginia was gone. The day passed by achingly slowly and when closing time drew near, I was exhausted. A headache was building up and I had already nicked my palm when washing up the knives. The flood of customers had thinned down into a slow trickle and except for me; the only employees left were the cashier, Robert and one other server.

"Montgomery," Robert beckoned to me from his office. "A word, please."  
>I sat in the chair in front of his desk. I knew what was coming. It wasn't the first time it had happened.<p>

"Montgomery," he sighed. "That was the third time I had to tell you off today alone. You know it's not the first time this has happened. Two tables went unattended because you were chatting with your friend out there. Do you realize how bad that is for business?"

I cast my eyes downward, ashamed. "I'm sorry, sir."

"Sorry doesn't really cut It, Montgomery."

I nodded miserably. "I know."

"Then you'll understand when I say I'm going to have to let Yu go." I froze.

"W-what?" Robert looked at me apologetically.

"I'm sorry kid. But with the recession going on I can't afford to keep this many people around. Someone's gotta go." He passed me an envelope.

"Two months wages," he said, nodding to it. I picked it up slowly. So that was it? Apparently it was.

"Okay then." I said quietly and rose to leave. "Thanks for... this." Robert nodded, looking a little embarrassed. I walked out of the office, my throat tight. Taking off my apron I hung it on the back of the kitchen door before grabbing my purse and coat and hurrying out the door. It was getting darker, and it looked like it was about to rain. My head was pounding like someone was playing five aside football in there. Someone honked their car horn and I winced.

"Can you not be quieter?" I snapped in the direction of the offending vehicle.  
>It drew up alongside me as I walked. It was an old fashioned, beat up, rusty looking thing. Around five or six young men were in it, their music cranked up high and cigarettes dangling from their hands. The driver noticed me looking. He had sunglasses on even though the clouds were so thick it was a miracle that light was filtering through and a snake tattoo on his forearm.<p>

"The hell are you looking at?" He asked roughly. I narrowed my eyes.  
>Big mistake. Snake gritted his teeth and swung over onto the curb, barely missing a shiny limousine as it did so. All five of them hopped out, Snake at the head.<p>

"Did you hear me?" He leered, "what the fuck are you looking at?"  
>I<p>

clenched my fists and shook my head. "Nothing."

"It didn't seem like nothing sweetheart," said Snake moving in so close I could smell something illegal on his breath.

"Maybe she likes what she sees," said one of the others, and all of them laughed.

"Is that right, darling," murmured Snake, grinning away.

I glared." No."

I took a step back and started walking away quickly. I shouldn't have turned my back on them. I hadn't gotten two steps further when a hand clamped onto my shoulder and spun me around.

"That was rude, darling," snapped Snake, his eyes gleaming. I was suddenly aware of how the wind was blowing hard, picking away strands of hair from my ponytail. Shit. I had to get away. Snake pulled me closer. I lashed out, fists connecting with his face and neck and made a run for it.

"You little _shit_!" Their car revved and honked.

"Oh crap," I moaned, throwing a glance backward. Where would I go, where would I go? I turned into the next alley I could find, my bag slapping against my ribcage. There was a screech of tyres and several doors slammed. Horrified I threw a glance backwards. They were following me. There should be a worse swear word for moments like these.

I ran faster, breathing heavily now; I was never much of an athlete. They were still following; I could hear the insults and curses being thrown at my back. I took a right, then a left, another left, hoping to throw them off. A right, and another and- fuck. I skidded to a halt, gasping and clutching a stitch in my side. Dead end.  
>"Oh god, oh god, oh god," I whimpered through clenched teeth. Why was I so<em> stupid<em>? _Why_ did I duck into the alley, _why_ did I hit Snake, _why _did I stare? The sound of pounding feet announced their arrival. I swallowed thickly.

Snake came around the corner first. He skidded to a halt and stared at me, a grin spreading across his face. I did not like the look of that grin.

"Well, well, well," he cooed, strolling forward casually. He got right up in my face again, as I backed up against the wall. I held my breath and stared blankly. His hand twisted into my ponytail and held it tightly. I clenched my teeth against the pain.

"Sweetheart," he said drawing a cigarette out, "you really shouldn't be so rude."  
>Someone passed him a lighter. He pulled on his joint deeply and blew the smoke into my face. Coughing I turned away, scalp pulling as I did so. Jamming the cigarette in between his teeth, he slammed me against the wall.<p>

"Let me _go_, you son of a -!" With a single hand he grabbed both of my wrists and held them above my head.

"Shut up, you little bitch," he snarled brandishing the cigarette in my face, "or I'll burn your eyes out." I froze.

"Let me go," I said trying to hide the tremor in my voice. "Let me go and I won't report you to the police." He laughed.

"Oh sweetheart, you won't be reporting anything to anyone. I have big plans for you," he whispered in my ear, his cigarette so close to my cheek I could feel the heat off the glowing tip.

"And once I'm done, I'm sure all my friends would like a turn too." The grip on my wrists tightened further and his lips crashed onto mine.

It all happened very suddenly after that; everything became a big blur. I do remember though, that the cigarette in Snake's hand went up in flames. And by up I mean _up_ up. Like, flames six feet in the air up. Snake jumped back with a yell.

"What the fuck!"

I felt so dizzy, so very dizzy. I stumbled. Then, someone was shaking me by the shoulders.

"You little freak, that was you wasn't it? You're one of those mutants, aren't you?" Everything was spinning and I whimpered.

"Oh god no, what have I done, what did I do, I'm not a freak, I'm not, I'm not-"  
>The last thing I heard before everything went dark was the faint cry of someone calling my name.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Pepper POV<strong>

Pepper sipped her coffee, feeling slightly guilty and a little thrilled. Thrilled because here she was, Pepper Potts, CEO of stark industries, Tony Stark's girlfriend, sipping coffee at an ordinary bakery. No mess, no press. And not for the first time either. It was a luxury she couldn't usually afford because she was always so busy, but as of late she had always found half an hour or so which she used to come to this bakery.

Nobody recognised her in her super disguise. Her sunglasses were so large they sometimes slipped off her nose and her trademark strawberry blonde hair was tucked into a large hat. Good lord, if she had known it was this easy she would have done this ages ago. Even the waitress, Louie, hadn't recognised her, after serving her for three weeks straight. Then again, reasoned Pepper, the girl was new to the city; no wonder she didn't recognise the famous Pepper Potts. Pepper felt extremely pleased at her good fortune and wondered how long it would last. Maybe she could convince Louie to keep her secret… this brought her back to the cause of her guilty conscience. The poor girl had gotten into trouble with the manager because she stopped to chat with Pepper for so long. Pepper hoped that she was okay.

She seemed like a sweet person with definitely more brains than what was required for a simple waitressing job. Tony would have teased her ten times over by now for being such a Good Samaritan.  
>As if the damned man had known he was thinking about her, her phone rang out in that obnoxious ringtone he had programmed especially for himself. She made a mental note to remind Jarvis to change that.<p>

"Hey," she smiled into her mug, "So which one was it? Did you sneak away or throw a hissy fit?"

"Not..quite… the meeting isn't over yet," Tony sounded rather worried. "Pep, where are you?"

"At this bakery, near the tower. What's wrong?"

"Oh it's nothing serious-"he broke off for a second and there was some low murmuring in the background.

"Tony?"

"Pep, I gotta go," said Tony, "just stay away from Central Park, okay? I've sent Happy to get you, don't go anywhere without him."

"Okay, but Tony, what-" she cut off as the dial tone sounded. Huffing in frustration, she threw the phone into her bag, chewing her lip worriedly.  
>Happy came for her ten minutes later and after she grilled him for any information possible on what was happening (he gave away nothing) she decided to do distract herself by doing some grocery shopping. She might as well; with Thor coming tomorrow and bringing Jane and her assistant, Darcy, Stark tower would be housing a lot of people soon.<p>

She spent practically the entire day shopping, for all sorts of things. Tony had programmed Jarvis to be able to connect to her phone, and between the AI and herself, a manic shopaholic was born. Maybe they did go a little overboard with food and toiletries but hey, Thor and Steve ate enough for ten people. It would be perfectly fine.

They were nearing Stark tower once more when suddenly, Happy jerked to a halt.

"Happy?" Usually he was such a careful driver.

"Joyriders," grunted Happy.

Pepper frowned out the window, looking out for the said careless drivers. Honestly, the people on the roads these days. Oh that must be them, with the girl. They really were a motley looking bunch. They crowded around the girl, ugly smiles on their faces. Pepper's eyes slid over the young woman and her mouth opened in surprise.

"Louie?" She rolled down the Window. Suddenly, Louie jerked forward and started running. Swearing and shouting, the men started to chase her.

"Happy," she said sharply, "stop the car and come with me."

"What- Miss Potts-" but Pepper had already hit the pavement and was chasing the men down into an alley.

Goddam her high heels to the depths of hell. Pepper sped up as much as she could without falling over. Damn. She could barely keep up with their sharp turns. Heavy footfalls behind her told her that the bodyguard-chauffer was on her tail. Suddenly there was a yell.

"LET ME GO YOU SON OF A -"

Pepper inhaled sharply. "Louie."

Cautiously, she crept forward. Looking at Happy she raised an eyebrow. "Think you can handle a bunch of idiots who are very likely drunk and high?"

With a stoic face, Happy laid a hand on the gun at his hip and nodded. Nodding back, Pepper peered around the corner. There was a nasty laugh; one man had the waitress pressed up against the wall, her wrists held above her head in one of his hands, while the other waved a cigarette under her nose. He bent and whispered something in her ear.

"Now," said Pepper. Happy strode out into the open, gun cocked but before he could say or do anything, Pepper saw Louie's eyes flash a brilliant white and the cigarette in the man's hand burst into flames, lighting up like the tail end of a rocket and shooting flames high into the air.  
>The man was shaking the waitress by the shoulders, screaming into her face.<p>

"You little bitch, are you a mutant freak?"

"Louie!" cried Pepper. The others turned, looking for means of escape when Happy stepped forward.

"Don't even think about it." Held at gunpoint, all five men froze and raised their hands to their heads. The cigarette was still ablaze, an enormous fire crackling from the tiny, rolled up joint. Louie dropped to the ground, clutching her head. Pepper ran forward and cradled her in her arms. The young woman was mumbling and shivering

"Oh god, I'm not a freak, I'm not, I'm not-"

"Shh, honey," Pepper whispered soothingly. "It's okay, you're okay." She looked at Happy.  
>He nodded. He looked at the men.<p>

"I'll deal with you later." He said coolly. "For now, scram." They scrammed. Happy looker at Pepper.

"What do we do with her?"

Pepper thought fast. The girl obviously had abilities she was not in control of. If they let her into a police station or a hospital, a panic attack might bring the place down. If she wasn't shunned like all mutants were - Pepper had heard the stories - she had only a few places left to go to for help, SHIELD being one of them. Pepper wasn't sure she wanted Louie to turn into another Maria Hill or Natasha Romanoff. So, the only logical conclusion would be-

"We take her to Stark Tower."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: ** Question: Should this chapter have a trigger warning? Let me know if you think so :/ I apologize if, in my ignorance, I upset someone by not posting a trigger warning at the beginning of the chapter. Let me know and I will immediately post one.

Hmm, other than that, whadduya think? :D Next chapter is going to be rather interesting, I believe. Our two main characters will finally meet! If I'm not mistaken with the word count, there's a chance of a meeting between two other people too ;) Any guesses?

Please, do leave a review, they make me so happy. oh please. oh pretty please. *makes puppy dog eyes.*


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **Look at me, updating unusually fast. Yeah, you should know my update times are going to be all over the place; at least until the end of this year. So apparently my word count was incorrect and the second meeting of two important people that I was talking about will happen in the next chapter :/ Sowwy.

Okay, so I think this chapter is a leetle short, but I tried very hard to fix all the grammar. Did I succeed? Well that is the question isn't it? *laughs heartily and stops suddenly*

before we get on with it, the disclaimer. Nothing you recognize is mine.

Now, for the replies to reviews :D

**TheIronBat:** haha i knoww, Louie is having such a crap day and I feel awful for putting her through such hardship. Hopefully things will get better for her soon ;) Thank you for the revieww, it's so very nice to get reviews, isn't it? I totally understand why Authors crave for them so. Enjoy!

**Guest: **Guest! oh, Guest! if only I knew your penname :( Here, O Fabulous One, more has been given to you! Enjoy! :D and let me know what you think :3

**literaturelife7: **hello :D I'm glad you like the story :3 Yeah, switching points of view gives me greater freedom. it's also very effective because I want to try and give more insight into _everyone's _thoughts and feelings and not just a single person's. I hope you like this chapter! :D

Many thanks to the ones who are following and have favourited this story! It gives me the happy feels :')

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><p><strong>Tony POV<strong>

Tony Stark was bemused and that was not a feeling he was accustomed to feeling. He was bemused, a little confused, and a whole lot amused at the entire damned situation. Therefore he and his bad rhyming decided to have a drink.

They were back from their fun little trip to Central Park. He leaned back in his chair idly. Steve was seated on his immediate left, back stiff and eyes narrowed. Bruce was seated on the sofa, eyes flitting nervously to Clint who, Tony could tell, was practically pissing himself in restrained fury. Natasha had a hand placed placatingly on his shoulder but unlike the rest of them, was standing.  
>Tony sighed and rubbed his eyes. Thor was a whole lot more fun than this bunch.<p>

Speaking of the god of thunder, now, Tony may have been a little inebriated when Thor had come down to Manhattan for a debriefing on that little episode in Greenwich, but he was pretty sure he had informed them of the death of his mother and brother. If that was so then why, _why_ was said brother now coolly seated in front of him, sipping a glass of wine? Tony looked around, wondering who would break the silence first. Would it be Steve? It would probably be Steve. Natasha was too good at the whole poker-face-silent-spy thing. Or maybe it would be Clint. Although the way it was going, it was more likely that Clint would just tackle Loki then and there. Tony suddenly had a vivid mental image of the archer letting out a Tarzan-like yell and tackling the God across the coffee table.

"So let me get this straight," said Steve and Tony practically giggled. "You say you almost died and then found a - a portal back to earth."

Loki inclined his head slightly in affirmation, although he was starting to look slightly impatient at Steve's disbelief. Tony didn't blame him. The god had, after all, just explained what had happened to him from the moment Thor had broken him out of jail, even changing his form into something that closely resembled Jake Sully from Avatar to prove his point. Tony knew Bruce was itching to find out more about that little display of talent. As a matter of fact, so was he.

"That was almost three weeks ago," said Natasha, "what were you doing for so long?"

"Healing," replied Loki setting down his wineglass. "It was a near fatal wound. It took a while."

"How did you get to Central Park?" asked Tony.

"I teleported." It was as if he was making an effort not to add _obviously_. Right.

"Why here?" asked Bruce. "You don't exactly have happy memories of this area."

"I was..." Loki winced, "I needed to find someone to assist me in getting to another realm. There is a high concentration of magic in this area. I thought, perhaps, a very strong force, or a being with special abilities resided in this city. Aside from you, of course."

Clint snorted, folding his arms and glaring. "I don't trust you, or anything you say."

"I don't expect you to, Agent Barton," said Loki quietly, looking away. Tony blinked and exchanged a surprised glance with Steve. Were his ears deceiving him or had the god of mischief sounded... remorseful? What had happened to Loki this past year, for him to turn into this sad, fallen man?

"Well," Tony sipped his own drink, "we'll just keep you here until tomorrow and let Thor deal with you." Loki blanched. Tony was surprised the man could actually get any paler.

"I do not -," the God suddenly paused, cocking his head. Eyes widening, he rose, hands forming fists. The Avengers immediately went into protective stances, standing and readying themselves for any sudden attacks.

Loki didn't even seem to notice. He narrowed his eyes at the elevator. "Something is coming."

"Jarvis," said Tony quietly, "who is it?"

"Miss Potts," replied the AI, "accompanied by Mr. Hogan and a third unknown individual-"  
>The elevator dinged and a panicked Pepper stepped out.<p>

"Tony!" she cried, "Oh thank god, Bruce-," she hurried out, Happy following.

"What is that?" Loki asked sharply. Pepper didn't seem to hear.

"Happy, lay her down on the sofa - Bruce - I think you should take a look at her -"

Curious, Tony moved forward with Bruce, to see exactly what it was that was gracing his sofa. It was a young woman, in her early twenties or so, Tony guessed. She had thick, wavy black hair and looked very pale under her fading tan. She was muttering and shaking, beads of sweat gathering at her forehead.

"Who is she?" asked Tony.

"What happened?" asked Bruce at the same time.

"Louie," Pepper sat on the edge of the sofa and stroked her forehead. "She's a waitress. Happy and I saw a bunch of guys chase her down and corner her in an alleyway. One of them had her pinned to the wall and everything…" Steve clenched his fists in anger. Even Tony frowned.

"-And then, Tony, I don't know how she did it, the guy was waving a cigarette in her face and then her eyes flashed white and Tony, _the cigarette went up in flames_." A silence greeted her words.

"Up in flames?" said Natasha disbelievingly. Pepper nodded.

"Yes, I-" she stopped talking as the bottles in the bar started to shake, the liquid inside sloshing around. On the table, the same thing was happening to the glasses, the wine lapping against the edges and coming dangerously close to spilling. A strong breeze was in the air. The hairs on the back of Tony's neck prickled.

"You feel that wind?" he asked in a low voice. The others nodded.

"There can't be any wind in here," he said looking around, "all the windows are closed, and Jarvis controls the heating and air conditioning inside the building-"

"It's her," said Loki. He came forward cautiously, hands raised in an 'I come in peace' gesture. Pepper's eyes widened as she finally noticed the God and Bruce stood protectively in between them.

"I can help," snapped Loki.

"We don't need your help-," started Clint but the rest was cut off by a gasp from Louie. Her eyes opened, her back arched and she shook violently. Her eyes, her entire eyes were a pure, bright, glowing white. Loki stepped forward, ducking around Bruce and touched her cheek. The wind howled around them; several bottles crashed to the ground.

"My bottles!" moaned Tony.

"Hush," said Loki softly. He closed his eyes and cradled Louie's head. Quickly, he murmured a few words under his breath and almost immediately the wind died down, the water stilled. Louie stopped jerking around and fell back. Loki caught her and laid her down, her head now resting on Pepper's lap.

Kneeling beside her on the floor, Loki's palms glowed green as they hovered over Louie's unconscious form. Clint shifted beside Tony, ready to move forward and pull the Asgardian away. Tony flung an arm out to stop him.

"Wait," he murmured to the angry agent. Clint glared at him. "If he's hurting her-"

"It _is_ her," interrupted Loki sounding shocked.

"What?" More than one person asked.

"The high concentration of magic I was speaking of earlier. I believe it comes from _her_."  
>There was a beat of silence and then everyone started talking at once.<p>

"We should tell Fury," piped up Natasha, "SHIELD should know about this-"

"Not yet," said Tony. He paced back and forth, thinking hard. His eyes met Bruce's and he knew the doctor knew what he was thinking. He glanced at Pepper. Her eyes seemed to be saying the same thing. "Not yet."

"Tony, we can't wait," said Natasha impatiently, "you saw what the girl did, and she was _unconscious_ when she did it. She might be a threat-"

"Please, Dominatrix, she's harmless," said Tony flippantly. "I say we let her rest for the night and wait until we hand Loki over to Thor. We can deal with this tomorrow" Loki glared, but said nothing.

"But-"

"Let's take a vote," interrupted Pepper, "those in favour of waiting say I."

Tony's hand shot into the air, followed by Pepper, Bruce and Happy. Tony smirked.

"Outvoted then, you guys. We wait. Bruce," he added quietly as Steve picked up Louie and carried her to one of the guest rooms, "meet me down in the labs. There are some things we need to get ready for."

Bruce eyed him. "Louie and Loki aren't test subjects for your mad plans, Doctor Frankenstein."

"Oh come on," hissed Tony gleefully, "like you're not dying to find out how Reindeer Games turns blue."

Bruce shook his head. "You really are crazy."

Tony shrugged and danced into the elevator. He had a feeling things were about to get very, very interesting.

* * *

><p><strong>Loki POV<strong>

The next morning Loki paced his bedroom in a state of nervous agitation. He hadn't slept at all the previous night, partly thinking of the girl and partly in anticipation of Thor's arrival. Thor. Sighing he sat on his bed and ran his hands through his hair. Thor was going to kill him for not contacting him immediately. Not that he had had a choice; he had been exhausted when he had arrived in Midgard, taking almost three days to simply sit and heal. Dark magic was a nasty sort of business. Absentmindedly, he let his fingers trail over his stomach. Underneath his armor a faint scar was still present, surrounded by a purple-black bruise that might not ever fade.

Nevertheless, Thor would still be very, very angry. Loki remembered the last time they had met after the entirety of Asgard had thought him dead. The God of Thunder had been _furious_. People would have said that it was due to his attempts to steal the Tesseract, but Loki knew what had hurt Thor the most was how he had survived and stayed away.

_"Did you mourn me?"_

_"We all did"_

Loki shivered. What in the world was wrong with him?

There was a knock at the door. Rising, he opened it to Agent Romanoff. Arms folded, she stared at him blankly. He mimicked the pose.

"Yes?"

"I was told to bring you down for breakfast. Come on." Loki sneered.

"And what if I do not wish to have breakfast?"

"Then I'll cuff you and drag you down the hallway. It's either that or you walk. You pick."

"Afraid I might run, Agent?" He was not a fool. He knew Stark's computer had been monitoring him all night and that his windows were sealed shut. Romanoff cocked her head.

"Yes, actually. Now are you coming or what? Louie is awake too." That piqued Loki's interest. So the girl was better was she? Interesting. Romanoff had already turned and was walking away. He hurried to catch up. They entered the elevator and arrived at the floor with the kitchens. Already, everyone else was there, except for Banner.

"Reindeer Games!" Said Tony Stark cheerfully, "Come join us!" Loki didn't miss the way Romanoff frowned at Stark's overly friendly gesture. Behind the counter, Pepper Potts was preparing breakfast with the assistance of Rogers. Stark was sitting at the counter, sipping from a large mug. He looked quite tired. Barton was at one of the sofas located at one end of the room, shoveling food into his mouth and alternating between glaring daggers at Loki and watching a large television screen.

However, what caught Loki's attention was the young woman seated at the counter - Louie. He had felt her presence even before he walked into the room. She was sitting two seats away from Stark, her head bowed, a long, messy mane of raven hair covering her face. Pepper kept shooting worried glances at her.

Ignoring Barton and his death glare, Loki walked to the counter. Stark patted the stool next to him.

"Sit," he said. Loki sat. Out of the corner of his eye he observed Louie. Her eyes were red; she had been crying. Her hair was unkempt and tangled, her attempts at combing through it with her fingers of no use at all. She hadn't noticed Loki just yet.

"Louie." Pepper pushed a plate of steaming food towards her. Louie looked up at her and smiled.

"Thanks," she said softly. Loki could still feel the magic emanating from her in gentle waves. With every move she made, the air practically rippled with soft power. It was like a tangible aura and felt oddly pleasant. Involuntarily he relaxed. Until of course, Louie turned and noticed him. Her eyes widened.

"You." Loki swallowed, suddenly nervous.

"I am Loki, of Asgard..."

"I know who you are," she interrupted, frowning, "everyone in this city does." Loki inclined his head in agreement. It slightly annoyed him that this human had simply interrupted when he was speaking; really it was quite a common occurrence in this godforsaken land.

Louie stared at him, her eyes narrowed, cool and calculating. Loki's back stiffened In discomfort. A human was making him uncomfortable. Lovely. Her gaze moved from the top of his head to his feet, before they flicked to his eyes, brown meeting green. They were quite an Interesting pair of eyes, Loki realised with surprise. A simple chocolate brown in colour, but as they moved in the light, chocolate changed to russet, and the strands of a wonderful burgundy tone shone through. More than that however, was the intelligence within those eyes. Loki felt like he had been laid bare under a spotlight as she fixed her gaze on him. He found himself unable to look away.

Brown orbs flashed and for a moment, Loki thought she was going to hit him. She wanted to, he could tell; he could feel the energy radiating off her. However, her expression softened.  
>"I'm sorry about your mother," she said softly. Loki opened his mouth to retaliate.<p>

"She's not my-," breaking off Loki blinked. Oh, what was the use in pretending? "Thank you," he said quietly.

She nodded and directed her attention to her food, not looking at him once again.  
>Steve coughed.<p>

"Maybe we should fill Loki in on what we were talking about earlier."

"Can we really trust him though?" asked Romanoff. "I still don't think it's the best course of action…"

"No, it isn't," said Tony rising and stretching, "But he's her best chance; if what happened yesterday is anything to go by."

"When is Thor arriving?" asked Barton.

"Some time today." Stark shot a glance at Loki before clapping his hands together.

"Okay, here's the deal Loki. Louie has a bit of a problem and you fixed it. Louie needs to figure out what the hell is happening to her, and you might be able to help. This kind of magic thing is your forte after all."

"And in return for this, what do I receive?" asked Loki. Stark stared at him for a moment.

"Are you kidding me? We can just tell all your Asgardian pals to lock you up again and disregard any leniency that they might give you for helping Thor." Stark folded his arms.

"Come on Reindeer Games, we know you need all the help you can get to get out of all this shit in one piece. Help us, and we'll put in a good word for you." Loki scowled. It was true. A good word from the Earth's Mightiest Heroes would go a long way… Perhaps even buy him time to escape. Hmm… he nodded shortly.

"Perhaps I could be of assistance."

"Good," said Steve, who was watching him closely.

"Goodie," said Tony happily, "We've never had a pet project like this before."

"Wonderful," mumbled Louie, "I'm an experiment." She didn't seem too unhappy about it though. If anything, Loki thought she looked relieved at the idea that they were not going to turn her out into the streets.

"I still think we should tell Fury," said Romanoff.

"Oh come on Natasha," pouted Tony, "He'll find out soon enough. We can train her on our own. It'll be fun." Louie looked at Pepper in astonishment.

"What am I, a puppy?" The tension in the room was lessening; even Barton chuckled at that one. Pepper rolled her eyes.

"Apparently, you are."

"She shall be my Louie, and she shall be mine, and I will love her and feed her…."

_Humans_, thought Loki, his nose wrinkled in distaste.

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><p><strong>AN: **ehehehhehe. well, i hope you liked that one, lol. Writing like a smartass is something I enjoy, but i have no idea if I'm actually funny enough to pull off that snarky kind of humor. :P oh well.

by the way, I updated early due to one rather specific reason: exams. *wails* There might be a delay closer to the end of November. :/

I will try my very best to update on time though, as long as it doesn't distract me from my studies. Well, doesn't distract me _too_ much. xD

Leave a review and let me know what you think, please! please? pleeeassee. Yes, I'm shamelessly begging. Indulge me why don't you :3

until next time my friends!


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:**

*peeps into the website*

*looks left*

*looks right*

DIDYOUMISSME?DIDYOUMISSME?DIDYOUMISSME? DIDYOUMISSME?DIDYOUMISSME?DIDYOUMISSME?

(Guess what reference that is and I'll give you a prize)

Why Hello there my lovely readers :D I hope you haven't given up on my just yet; I have big, big plans for this story. Funny Story, really, I made up my mind to restart editing two days ago and BAM, after WEEKS of silence from FFnet, I get a notification about a new follower and a new review! IT WAS A SIGN I'M SURE OF IT. so here we go, the next chapter. Apologies for the looong wait. The final stretch until the end of the year always packs my schedule to the brim. Thankfully, this story is very stress relieving to write and I enjoy every minute of writing it. Well, maybe not the editing bit. :') So, replies to reviews up next, and after that, Chapter Faiiiiive :D

**TheIronBat: **You flatter me so much, stahhpp. By stop I mean, "Oh,_ do_ continue." Haha :3 I'm so glad Tony's POV was a success, he was so much fun to write! And yess, you're right, this chapter is very much Louie and whatever that happens inside her head. I hope you like this chappie and I look forward to reading a new chapter of your own story as well :D

**literaturelife7: **Yeah, Loki may be the Queen of Tantrum throwing, but hey, aren't all little siblings the same? I'm so glad I pulled off writing snarky Tony; he's easily the most fun to write. I dunno if there's much humor in this chapter, but let's see how it goes :3 Thanks so much, I hope you did your exams well too :D

**Queen Martha Pond: **Thanks so much for the review! It really motivated me to get this out super fast. I hope you liiiike, and stick around to see where this goes :D

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers. I'm just playing in the gigantic sandbox Marvel created. **

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><p><strong>Louie POV<strong>

I've had weird days but this one, I think, tops them all. That is why instead of sitting in my dingy apartment with a bunch of books I was sitting on a table in Tony Stark's lab, letting one Doctor Bruce Banner examine me.

* * *

><p>I woke up this morning in a strange bed with a pounding headache and the familiar feeling of disoriented confusion about my surroundings.<p>

"You're awake!" said a cheerful voice on my left. It sounded oddly familiar. I groaned and sat up.

"Virginia?" My eyes widened. "Where am I?" Before Virginia could reply, there was the sound of footsteps and a head popped in the doorway.

"Is she up?" Virginia rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Tony, she's up, not that you didn't already know that. I swear to God, when I find those dammed cameras..." She muttered the last bit under her breath. Tony beamed. The rest of him appeared and he walked forward. I took in his appearance, blinking slightly. He was wearing a fitted t-shirt and pants, both expensive and both covered in liberal amounts of grease and dirt. Nevertheless, his face was quite attractive, really, his eyes bright and calculating. A blue circle of light glowed brightly on his chest.

"Hello," I said. Tony held out his hand.

"Tony Stark, I'm sure you already know, billionaire, genius, philanthropist, owner of Stark industries, playboy-"

"Not anymore," interjected Virginia, her eyes narrowing playfully.

"He likes to feed his ego," she explained to me, "even if it means using that line _in front of his girlfriend_." She glared at Tony who winked at me. I looked from him to Virginia to him again. Tony Stark – Iron man - Stark Industries - girlfriend- suddenly everything clicked into place.

"Oh my god," I said in horror, "you're Pepper Potts." Virginia - of_ course_, no wonder she looked so familiar, her face was only plastered on the front of every magazine on the planet- grinned at me sheepishly.

"You got me."

"I can't believe I didn't recognize you," My voice came out muffled because I stuffed my face into the blankets in embarrassment.

"A heinous crime," said Tony solemnly. Pepper jabbed him with an elbow. I gazed at them blinking rapidly. The famous Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, New York's dynamite duo.

"I'm feeling a little star struck right now," I whisper.

"Sir," came a cool British accent out of nowhere. "Doctor Banner is looking for you. He is currently in the labs."

"Tell him I'll be right down," said Tony. He pinched my cheek. "Good to meet you, Louie. I'll see you in a bit." Swooping down, he gave Pepper a very long kiss - I blushed and looked down at my lap - and strode out of the room.  
>Pepper cleared her throat, looking a little pink in the face.<p>

"That was Jarvis," she said, pointing at the ceiling. I assumed she was referring to the voice that had come from nowhere. "He runs the place." She gave me a smile.

"There are some clothes laid out for you in the bathroom. I'll leave you to get changed. If you come to the elevator once you're ready, Jarvis will bring you down to the kitchens for breakfast."

"Wait," I said. "What happened to me?" Pepper tilted her head, as if wondering whether to tell me or not. It made me sit up a little straighter. Whatever it was, I could handle it. I stared right back, silently demanding whatever she had to say. Apparently she got the message.

"What do you remember?" she asked at last.

"The cigarette going up in flames," I replied bluntly. No sense in beating around the bush. Pepper smoothed out the bedspread. Slowly but clearly, she began to speak. I listened silently and nodded when I thought I should. Later, when I was alone, I allowed the tears to escape.

I stared at my pale face in the bathroom mirror, toothbrush in hand. Quickly, I brushed my teeth and pulled on the flannel shorts and ACDC t-shirt left for me. I ignored my puffy eyes and my hair which now resembled a crow's nest. Tamping down a wave of nausea, I made my way to the kitchens as Pepper has asked, entering slowly and stopping at the doorway to take a look around. It was quite big and comprised of way too much space to simply be a kitchen. It looked more like a hybrid between a living room, dining room and breakfast counter. Kitchen cupboards just happened to line the wall as well, alongside a stove, a large oven and an equally large microwave. On its left was a gigantic TV. In front of it were several couches and armchairs, making for the perfect lounging area for several people. Beyond that was a glass wall - floor to ceiling, letting in sunlight and showing off the breathtaking view of the city.

To the right was a large dining table, its dark wood shining in the light and beyond that were several doors, leading further into the building. I looked back at the sofas, where two people were seated - or rather, one was seated primly while the other was sprawled across the full length of one - a sandy haired man and a beautiful redhead. Pepper was at the stove, humming as she flipped pancakes. My stomach growled in approval.

"Louie," she called, "Come have breakfast." I sat down at the counter, my ears pricking up because of the eyes on my back.

"Coffee?" Pepper asked. I nodded. Pepper measured out a cupful of coffee beans.

'I'll do it," said an unfamiliar male voice. Pepper looked like she was about to object when a second voice floated towards us from the sofa.

"Let him, Pepper, the coffee grinder fascinates him."

I turn to look. A tall, broad shouldered man was heading for the counter. He wore a pair of gym shorts and a grey t-shirt. Frowning at the second speaker, the sandy haired man sprawled across the sofa, he made his way to the machine in question.

"I am not _fascinated_-"

"Yeah you are, Steve," said the redhead without even looking up. Huffing, Steve turned his back on the both of them. He then noticed me and smiled. I felt my stomach do a little flip-flop. Oh my… He really had quite the smile, and those blue eyes…

"I'm Louie," I said, hoping I wasn't blushing.

"That's Steve," said another voice and this one I was quite familiar with. "Steve Rogers, better known as Captain America, our resident golden boy." Tony dropped into a chair two seats away from mine. Steve started up the coffee grinder and bit the pad of his thumb as he waited patiently for it to finish. It really did seem like he was fascinated by the kitchen appliance.

"My mum was a fan of yours," I said to Steve with a wry smile.

"He gets that a lot," said Tony grinning. Steve ducked his head, embarrassed. Tony waved a hand at the sofa. "That's Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff, better known as Hawkeye and Black Widow. Agents of SHIELD… but that's all very hush-hush." There was a sudden tension in the room. The two agents were staring at Tony.

"You keep your secrets in very safe hands," I said to the two agents, jerking my head at Tony. Tony beamed.

"Sarcasm! Oh I knew I liked you!" My mouth tilted upwards.

"Tony," said Natasha, frowning, "Can you come over here for a second?" Tony rolled his eyes but went over anyway. I looked around the room and tried not to pay attention to the quiet, heated words the redhead was obviously firing at Tony.

"For God's sake Tony, you barely known her for _two minutes_, you _can't_ go around telling people-"

"Coffee!" Said Steve proudly and I look up, thankful at the distraction. My stomach was felt a little queasy after hearing Natasha's words. But it had stopped now, and although everyone looked annoyed, one glance at Pepper seemed to send them all scurrying for a mug. With murmurs of thanks, everyone accepted the strong, sweet concoction and silence fill in the kitchen except for the quiet clink of mugs touching tabletops and the occasional odd murmur.

"You know," said Tony after a moment, "It still amazes me that the seventy year old can make better coffee than the rest of us."

"Stop complaining, Tony," said Pepper, waving a spatula threateningly in his face, "No Ironman suit can save you if you make Steve stop making his coffee."

"Four days since he got here and he's already taken my place in your heart," grumbled Tony, "How? Aren't I the more adorable one?" His eyes widened dramatically as he gave me a tragically comic version of the puppy dog eyes.

"Um," I started, a little taken aback.

"Stop scaring her, Tony," said Natasha in a bored voice.

"Make me," said Tony at once. Natasha rose from her chair, casually cracking her knuckles.

"Okay, _okay_. Jesus..." Smirking, she settled back once more, putting her legs up on the coffee table.

"I paid big money for that you know," said Tony loudly. He was ignored. Shaking my head I grinned. These people were so weird. Steve leaned against the counter, folding his arms.

"So Louie," he said a tiny frown creasing his forehead, "What happened yesterday?" My smile faltered and the weight of yesterday's events came crashing down. I guess Tony and Pepper hadn't gotten around to giving them the four-one-one. I downed my coffee and told them everything. It was the second time I told someone and it was easier than the first. The words just tumbled out of my mouth and by the end of it my eyes were burning but I felt so _free._ Of course it would have been free-er if a heavy silence hadn't greeted me at the end. I swallowed nervously. Did they not believe me?

"That's some story," said Natasha. I half shrugged- half nodded. Tony rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully.

"Those are some interesting abilities. Have you ever tried to control them? Manipulate them?" I blinked.

"No, I don't know how to do it. It sort of just happens."

"There's got to be someone who can teach you though, someone who has had first-hand experience with this _magic _stuff," said Steve slowly. Tony nodded in agreement.

"What if it's not the sort of thing you can control?" I asked frowning. It's not like I particularly wanted to control this. I wanted it gone.

"Bull," said Tony airily, "Look at Bruce, he's got his little green problem down pat, walking around downstairs as cool as you please." I raised an eyebrow. _Little green problem?_ Tony noticed and leered.

"Sweetheart," he said looking straight at me, "The Hulk is in the building."

"_Tony!"_

I blink. The Hulk? _The_ Hulk? I took a moment to process this information. Everyone was looking at me as if they expected me to look terrified and bolt. Strangely I didn't feel the need to.

"Okay." Steve looked gobsmacked. So did Natasha and Clint, for that matter. Pepper chuckled weakly, staring at me.

"Well. Tony was right about one thing. You sure are different."

"I knew I liked her!"

"You're seriously okay with knowing that Hulk is in near vicinity to you?" I shrugged and nodded.

"Why?" asked Natasha at once. I thought for a moment before I replied. It felt like I was being tested.

"Because I don't think the Hulk is a bad person. Maybe it's because I was never directly affected by his actions. But I've seen some of the footage from the fights on the news. Didn't he save Iron man's life?"

"But you're saying you're not even a little bit frightened? You said you saw the footage, you saw what he can do."

"Well yes I am frightened," I squirmed a little in my seat. "but I'm just as frightened of the rest of you."

"Even Pepper?" asked Tony, lips twitching again.

"Especially Pepper," I said nodding firmly and shooting her a small smile. I hesitated before continuing, "What I'm trying to say is, um, he's just bigger and greener and more primal than us, but he's still an Avenger, right? Why should I be frightened for my life?"

"I find your niceness really hard to believe," said Clint shaking his head.

"I'm willing to give everyone a chance," I said flushing. "Anyone deserves the benefit of the doubt."

_They're just used to people freaking out_, I reassured myself_. They don't think you're just blowing your_ _trumpet and acting like a bloody saint_._ Nope. Not one bit. _I reasoned with myself. Okay, it's true the Hulk did seem scary, and I probably would have a heart attack if I ever came face to face with him, but at the same time I couldn't help thinking, wasn't there someone _behind_ the Hulk? Wasn't he a human being with feelings? Right now, I could sympathize with Bruce Banner more than with anyone else in this room. I knew what it was like to lose control and not be able to do anything about it. I shivered and poured myself more coffee.

"I think we should try it," said Tony looking at the others.

"No, Tony," said Steve crossing his arms. "That's stupid and dangerous."

"It's not like he hurt her before; he helped. Louie," said Tony cutting across Steve, "There's someone who we think might be able to help you."

"You know someone who can stop this?" I asked.

"Maybe. Or maybe he can teach you to control it."

"Wait a second," said Natasha sounding horrified, "You're not talking about-,"

"Yeah he is," snapped Steve, his blue eyes crackling.

"Who?" asked Clint looking back and forth between them, "Who are you talking about?"

"Loki," hissed Natasha, narrowing her eyes. Clint's jaw dropped open. He rounded on Tony looking furious.

"_Are you insane?"_ Tony folded his arms and glared at them all.

"He can help her, I'm positive he can."

"He killed 82 people in two days, Tony!" cried Natasha.

"And I bet you've killed more, Nat! We all have." His voice softened and he threw me a look. I felt rather ill again. Suddenly these people weren't weird and goofy. Suddenly they were all very, very dangerous to be around. Clint snarled.

"It's not the same thing and you damn well know it. Are you crazy? _Loki_? There are so many people that can help Louie, like Xavier-,"

"Besides, who gave you the right to decide that Louie is our resident rookie-"

"Me," said Tony jabbing a finger at himself. "I'd rather she be my resident rookie than belong to SHIELD or Xavier or any other God forsaken bunch, we're as good as any –,"

"But Tony, this is _Loki_ we're talking about-"

"He practically apologized to you Robin Hood, don't even deny it, he did. His mother's death must have knocked a little common sense into him because he seems completely out of it. Did he really look like he was about to tell us about his glorious purpose and take over the planet?"

"It's true, he did seem less… manic," said Pepper.

"He roamed around here on Earth for days and we didn't hear a peep out of him until SHIELD picked him up."

"Yes, well, how long will all of that last? He is the God of Mischief and Lies, he's probably just biding his time…"

"I'm not saying we have to trust him completely, we're not that stupid, we should give him a chance-," Voices rose loudly in protest. I blocked it out, eyes prickling again. Blinking I sighed. I was crying way too much lately. I only looked up again at a soft, "Louie" from Pepper. She pushed a stack of pancakes towards me.

"Thanks," I said softly. The noise had died down, thankfully. As I raised a forkful of pancakes to my mouth, a movement to the left caught my eye. I turned to look and my breath caught in my throat. I was gazing into beautiful emerald eyes, shimmering and shifting in the light. Pale skin, high cheekbones, long hair in a shade of ebony to rival mine; everything about him was beautiful and so very, very dangerous. _Oh._

"You."

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><p>Bruce was a sweet guy, with an untidy map of curls and intelligent brown eyes behind a pair of wire rimmed glasses. He spoke quietly, moved silently and efficiently and seemed to be the only one besides Pepper who didn't mind how, well, <em>insane<em> Tony Stark was. Right this very moment the man in question was at the other end of the lab pulling up virtual screens and talking rapidly to himself. Bruce approached me, thermometer in hand.

"I'm just going to check your vitals before we move on to some other tests, okay?" I nodded and eyed Tony, who was still talking nineteen to the dozen and scribbling on scraps of paper.

"Is he always like that?" Bruce laughed quietly.

"Yes, I'm afraid so." After checking all vitals and producing me to be of good health, Bruce began to ask me about my abilities. I told him all that had happened to me, from the water bottle incident to the alleyway one. By this time Loki and Steve had also slipped into the lab. All the Avengers were taking turns to supervise Loki and currently on Loki-watch was Captain America. Loki wasn't at all happy about the situation.

"When did the symptoms start?"

"A couple of weeks ago, maybe," I said, shrugging.

"Did anything at all happen to trigger?" I bit my lip.

"Well I was holidaying in Greenwich when I got caught in that huge alien invasion."

"I see," said Bruce. His eyes flicked to Loki who was staring fixedly at his fingernails.

"I remember all the fighting but at one point I must have tripped and blacked out because the next thing I know I was in a hospital bed." Bruce examined my eyes and prodded the back of my head.

"Perhaps," said Loki quietly, "you fell through a portal, rendering you unconscious." Tony nodded, now pulling up scenes from the battle in Greenwich.

"That seems plausible; they were opening up everywhere," he looked at Loki, "That's how you said you ended up here, right?" Loki nodded. While Bruce took notes, I took the opportunity to study the God of Mischief. I had read the stories; the more recent ones on the news and the old myths. Loki was not however what I'd expected him to look like. The guy was so odd. Aside from the fact that he insisted on wearing full Asgardian armour he stood in the lab like he belonged there, with a sense of authority not unlike what Steve's personality exuded. I almost smiled. He definitely had the upbringing of a prince. Almost immediately, Loki met my eyes and I blinked, a little uncomfortable. What were his powers? Was telepathy one of them? I couldn't; remember if any of the articles I had read had mentioned it. I forced myself not to look away. I didn't trust him, no matter how attractive his cheek bones were. Bruce broke our little impromptu staring match by asking me to stand.

"I'm going to try something before I let Loki take over," he said, beckoning me to a table at the back of the lab. Now that I was closer I could see that a space had been cleared out, with a plain wooden stool in the centre.

"I have no idea what triggers your powers, Louie," he said waving me over to the stool, "but I'm assuming highly charged emotion has something to do with it. So, I want you to think of something that will spark off some kind of powerful feeling that will cause you to do something." I gripped the edges of the seat. Powerful emotions huh? Loki watched me, frowning. I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Something that makes you happy, or sad, or mad?" asked Bruce encouragingly. It was easier said than done. I gave myself a mental shake. _Concentrate Louie, you can do this._ _Think._ Happy memories. Weekends with my mom. Reading in the treehouse. Graduation. But nothing happened. The seconds ticked by in silence and I was aware of everyone in the room watching me closely. Another minute passed.

"Maybe thought aren't enough," came Bruce's voice softly, breaking the quiet. I frowned, disappointed. Here I was, in front of some of the most powerful men on the planet and I was coming off as a rather stupid little girl.

"Okay, next I'm going to show you a series of pictures and videos. I'm going to try and trigger some sort of reaction from you."

"Okay," I replied clasping my hands.

"Right then, Jarvis if you could-," There was a slight commotion and Pepper burst into the room.

"Everyone, Thor's here," she said in a falsely bright voice. "He insisted on coming down to greet you."

She threw a slightly apologetic glance at Loki who had gone rigid, eyes glued to the door. Voices could be heard from further up the corridor and soon enough Natasha walked in. Her face was smooth and blank but I didn't miss how her hand kept brushing over her hip holster. Four people followed; two women, Clint and a tall, blond man dress similarly to Loki. He had several days' worth of stubble and walked at a slow, steady pace. I felt a sudden pang. I knew that walk very well. When you lose someone you walk that walk, pretending everything was okay, that you were going to be okay. His voice was deep, a gentle rumble and his smile seemed sad. So this was Thor.

My eyes fell on the two women flanking him. One was small and dainty, with long brown hair and pretty brown eyes - a much prettier brown than mine. She was gripping Thor's hand tightly and he was holding on just as tight. She was mumbling softly to him and he smiled tenderly as he responded. My eyes move to the woman on the other side. I gaped. It was Darcy. She caught my eye and her mouth dropped open too.

"You!" We both exclaimed the same time. Distracted, Thor and the other woman both looked up. I could tell the exact second Thor noticed Loki. He went absolutely still. The woman clutching his hand gasped. Darcy too blinked.

"Oh my God."

There was complete silence. Clint was outside the room because Thor was blocking the doorway but everyone else was stuck inside, each trying their best to disappear into the background. Nobody dared to speak a word.

Surprisingly, it was a small woman that moved first. She approached Loki, frowning as if she were trying to decide whether she was seeing things or not. Hesitantly, she reached out to him. Loki flinched. She placed her hand on his cheek, cradling his face. He wasn't the only one who looked shocked. The petite brunette smiled slightly.

"I never got to thank you." Loki narrowed his eyes.

"It is not necessary to thank me."

"Yeah it is," she said, nodding. "It really is." She smiled a little wider and dropped her hand. Stepping away, she blushed, realising that everyone else was staring at her. Hastily she looked at Darcy and then at Thor. Thor was still frozen in place staring straight at his brother. Loki's eyes shifted nervously in between Thor's and he raised both his hands in a small 'here I am' sort of gesture.

"Hello Thor," he said quietly. There was a long pause. Thor swallowed.

"How-," he broke off, throat working, before repeating in a stronger voice. "How?" Loki looked pained.

"It seems that the stories we were told as children were true, brother. Monsters do heal quite fast from the worst of wounds." Something in Thor's face broke and he strode forward. Grabbing Loki by the shoulders, he shook him, hard.

"_How many times_ do I have to tell you that you are _not_ a monster, you are my _brother_, you stupid, foolish-," Thor's voice broke and he grasped Loki's shoulder, looking straight into his eyes. I looked away, feeling uncomfortable: this wasn't something everyone should stand around ogling.

"I'm sorry," Loki whispered. Thor emitted a strangled sort of noise and pulled to his brother into a bone crushing hug. Loki's face showed discomfort only for a moment. Hesitantly, he returned the embrace and in a minute the frown on his face had relaxed. Letting go of him, Thor glared.

"Never," he thundered, "do that to me again. _Ever_. No more lies Loki." Loki smiled a crooked smile.

"I'll try my best, brother." Thor's eyes crinkled as he smiled. Then he frowned as if noticing something for the first time. Loki answered his unspoken question with a roll of his eyes.

"No Thor, I didn't steal anything," he said coolly. "I merely found it."

"What is it?" Loki turned and pointed to me.

"That." Thor's curious gaze swept over me, as did the two women's. I sighed. Here we go again.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Whew.

Sooooooo :3 What did y'all thiiinnnkkkk? Too sappy? Out of character?

Let me know with a review! I love hearing from you guys, it makes my day when I see that you took a minute or two of your time to give your opinion on the story. By the way, how do you feel about Louie? I wish I could draw well enough to show you what she looks like in my mind's eye...

hmm, i feel like I'm forgetting to mention something... Darn it. I'm sure the minute I upload this, I'll remember -_- how annoying.

Okay lovies, that's all I got for now. I have much editing to do for the next few chapters.

I hope you liked it and I hope you will stick with Louie through her story :)

Until next time :D

Much love

xo


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